Applicants have found that for earplugs and ear tips, effective insertion may be important for proper and comfortable fit. Further, both earplugs and ear tips may need to be inserted properly within a user's ear canal in order to effectively isolate the user's ear canal from outside background noise. After all, the primary purpose of earplugs is to provide this type of auditory isolation, blocking potentially damaging sounds from entering the user's ear canal; and ear tips for sound transmission devices (such as portable music devices by way of nonexclusive example) work best if they can isolate the user's ear canal from outside background noise that would interfere with the user's ability to clearly hear the desirable sounds produced by the sound transmission device (for example, the music). Applicants have found that providing optimized acoustical seal may be important for the overall effectiveness of earplugs and/or ear tips. Applicants have further found that the acoustical seal may be impacted by the user's ability to properly insert the earplug and/or ear tip into position within the ear canal.
Further, Applicants have found that it may be useful for ear tips used with sound transmission devices to reduce any buildup of static electricity. If static electricity buildup from the sound transmission device grows too large, there could be some risk of an unpleasant shock to the user when the static electricity buildup does finally discharge. Thus, Applicants have found that an ear tip that reduces the static electricity buildup associated with some sound transmission devices may offer improved performance and user comfort.